Chapter 157 Forced March (1/2)
Chapter 157 – Forced March
September 2nd.
1 AM.
Tong's 30,000 soldiers continued marching even though it was pass-midnight. Torches in the hands of soldiers made a long dragon line, and the road was illuminated by the torchlight.
Tong and Jia Xu did not walk like the soldiers, they had their own private horses.
As they were heading south, Jia Xu explained his thought.
”This forced march has two goals and one backup plan.”
”First is the primary goal, we have to race against time! Liu Ping will also move his troops to this city as it's the best city to garrison large forces. The wall is also higher than the neighbor cities in this province, and he can also use this city as the center of his logistic supply chain.”
”Since that eunuch came to our city a couple days ago, I estimated that he should have gotten the edict on early August, which means Liu Ping should have already prepared his troops and he should be ready by now. His first wave of troops should arrive at Ji within a month at the latest. So, we have to claim the city and stabilize the order before his troops arrive.”
”Second goal, because we lack information from Zhang He, this rapid march will confirm Zhang He's stances and the capability of Han Fu.”
”By now, Han Fu should have received the edict from Liu Ping to mobilize his army. Because of the drought, it will take him two months to gather enough provision for his army.”
”He has a total of 40,000 elite infantries at the moment, but he can draft another 100,000 militias from the city population if he really wants to. Judging from his personality, if he's inept as the report said, he won't conscript the militia because he lacks food at the moment.”
”As for his military commanders, only a few individuals that can pose a threat on us, Xin Ping, Ju Shou, and Zhang He.”
”From all reports, Zhang He is a talented young general. He will definitely notice our troops approaching Ye City in two to three days.”
”If Zhang He wants to switch side to us, he will get in the way of the sortie or won't intercept our army midway. Even if there's an interception or a sortie unit, it will be from Xin Ping or Ju Shou Army, which we can handle them easily. Ju Shou and Xin Ping are civil officers, and all our intel said that only Zhang He possesses cavalries. Their troops will be as slow as us.”
”However, in the worst case scenario where Zhang He decides to double-cross us, we will see him and his cavalries in the interception. In this case, we will use our backup plan.”
Jia Xu stopped speaking to catch his breath and drank water from his bamboo canteen.
Tong asked. ”What's the backup plan?”
Jia Xu smiled and laughed. ”We'll flee. What else do you think?”
The corner of Tong's mouth twitched. It was that simple?
”What if Zhang He decides to pursue us? What will be your next move?”
”It's not my next move, it's YOUR next move. I will have you soak all villages, forests, farms, and trees with your magic oil. Then we'll burn everything as we retreat.”
The face of Tong lost color as he realized, there was a reason why people nicknamed him the venomous strategist. He would not hesitate to utilize anything to achieve his goals.
This forced march, as well, would cause some damage to the soldiers' morale. They would be so tired that they could get a stroke or a heart-attack midway. In addition, there was a high chance for desertion if they gave up on Tong and Jia Xu.
The infamous vicious strategist gave Tong a sneak peek of his fangs.
Tong calmed himself down.
'If it's someone like Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, or Zhou Yu, those guys are hybrid minister-strategist-military-commander, they would connect this battle results with long term goals. But Jia Xu only cares about winning the war and leaving the rest of the aftermath cleaning up to me.'
'It's alright. Jia Xu is a pure strategist who focuses on battle efficiency.'
'Get Ye City first. I'll worry about the rest later.'
…
7 PM.
The pace of the march got slower as the troops could not handle it anymore. They had not slept last night and their feet and their legs hurt. Everyone was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Last night, they were simply walking, which they could handle. However, once the sun rose, Jia Xu ordered everyone to jog and quicken the pace. It was fortunate that all of them had been taught to run at least 2 hours every morning in the army camp, or else, they would have vomited or fainted already.
Fortunately, all of them were traveling light as they were neither wearing armors nor carrying weapons. As a result, they managed to outlast the forced march without sleeping for a night.
”ALL TROOPS! STOP MARCHING! YOU CAN REST FOR TONIGHT!” Jia Xu shouted.
Gazing at Jia Xu in disbelief, all soldiers cheered in collapsed on the ground. The stronger one tried to cut woods to make camp.
”Don't bother making camps! All of us will sleep on the ground for today. Tomorrow, we will resume marching all night again! Get a good sleep while you can!”
Jia Xu's second command shocked Tong and the entire army. Marching non-stop for 24 hours was already difficult, going for another 36 hours marathon would definitely be hell.
”I'm so sorry, my lord. We are racing against time. If we don't do this, Sun Jian will notice us before we can get close to Ye. By now, I think they should have received Liu Ping's edict, too. It's better if we can avoid any unnecessary fight on our way.”
A bitter smile appeared on Tong's face.